Jacob FrenchmanBIOSC Senior and pre-med student Hey everyone! It’s Jacob, one of the peer advisors. I am a senior Biological Sciences major hoping to attend Medical School after I graduate. I am pursuing a minor in chemistry and a certificate in the Conceptual Foundations of medicine. One of the most rewarding activities I have been involved with here at Pitt has been serving as a Teaching Assistant because I benefited greatly from my TAs, and relish in the fact that I can now help peers that are in the same position as I was. I love to share my passion for science with my students and hopefully this passion will encourage them to explore it themselves. I first started being a TA in the fall semester of my sophomore year as a Foundations of Biology teaching assistant. I had never been involved in teaching before, but it seemed like a fun way to challenge myself and help my peers. As the semester went on, working as a teaching assistant became even more fun because I met lots of new people and built lasting relationships with students, peers, and my professor. However, TAing definitely has not been easy. After my first few office hours, it became abundantly clear that knowing biology was not enough to be an effective TA, the confusion on my students’ faces was apparent, and the sessions left all of us feeling disappointed. Learning to teach material I am passionate about has not only challenged my understanding of the material I teach, but also my ability to communicate with others. These challenges are what make the teaching experience so much fun for me. Along with my fellow Foundations of Biology UTAs, I led recitations, created homework problems, and held weekly (in-person) office hours! It was so exciting (and at first, intimidating!) to stand in front of the class and work through questions with the students. The weekly sessions around the Hillman library whiteboards, and Wednesday night Clapp L9 recitations, are memories I will always cherish and seeing the joy in my peers’ eyes when they score well on exams is one of my favorite feelings. However, when the pandemic thrust us all into a world of uncertainty, we traded the Hillman whiteboard for the zoom whiteboard. While the environment was much different, it felt like a renewed challenge. After over a year of zoom office hours, I am so excited to be back in the classroom working as a UTA. This time, however, I am teaching Organic Chemistry in Chevron. While these classes differ, the satisfaction of hearing about my students’ successes is universal. Now that I am a senior, some of students I used to teach have also became UTAs alongside me and my older peers. It is such an amazing feeling to see this exponential impact and pay forward the help I received. For any of my peers looking to try their hand at teaching and mentorship, I highly recommend getting involved as a UTA. If you want to talk more about becoming a UTA or want to talk about anything BIOSC or non-BIOSC make an appointment with Madison or me and swing by our Monday 3-4 PM Office hours in Clapp Hall (Clapp L1)!
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Pitt Bio BlogThe Pitt Bio Blog is maintained by the Department of Biological Sciences Advising Office. Posts are authored by our students Archives
January 2022
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